Oreno Pan
by cakessan
Summary: (Translation: My Bread) Post Satan's defeat, Rin loses his demonic abilities and decides that Exorcism isn't his calling. But he needs his little brother's approval before he leaps into the next phase of his life.


Rin paced impatiently up and down the small kitchen of his apartment. He glanced at the clock on the wall and threw his hands in the air.

"Where is he?" He muttered, absently clipping his hair out of his eyes.

As the clock struck two, there was a knock on the door.

"Finally!" He flew to the door, almost unhinging it as he threw it open.

Yukio stood on the doorstep, looking mildly surprised.

"I've been waiting for an _hour_!" Rin dragged him inside by the arm, slamming the door behind him before forcefully plonking Yukio into an armchair.

Yukio blinked, and adjusted his glasses, looking confused. "You told me to come at two."

Rin ignored him, going into the kitchen and returning with a file and a plate of cookies. As he sat down on the couch, his enthusiasm was replaced with nervousness. He fidgeted with the file as he offered Yukio the cookies.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" His younger brother asked calmly. "It sounded important on the phone."

"How… how is work?" Rin dodged the question.

Yukio raised an eyebrow, and was about to press Rin, then changed his mind. "It is going well. I'm researching new pharmacological properties of certain flowers. Sir Pheles was kind enough to reduce my missions so I could focus on my medical pursuits."

Rin grinned. "I wonder what changed your mind about staying an Exorcist? Maybe it had to do with a certain Junior Head of- Ow!" Rin rubbed his head where the cookie Yukio had been holding had bounced off.

"When I'm not having to chase your tail, it isn't so bad." His brother retorted coldly, despite the pale pink flush that appeared on his cheeks.

"Pffft. She likes the uniform. And the guns."

It hit too close to the truth for comfort. Yukio cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose, glaring at Rin. "You wanted to talk about something."

On being reminded, Rin wrinkled his nose and tapped the file against the table. "Right. Well. Since-uh-I'm not an Exorcist anymore, and school isn't really my thing, I thought that I should probably find some work. I mean, Mephisto was actually very generous with the pay for the Gehenna thing, and it's more than I know what to do with, but its going to run out sometime, right? And I kind of wanted to ask Shiemi to move in with me an-"

"Nii-san, what's the point?" Yukio interrupted, amused. It was rare for him to see his brother actually doing something productive and he was just a little proud of Rin for trying to take the initiative.

Rin handed him the file, breathless. "I bought a bakery."

Yukio didn't open the file, staring in horror at his brother. "Do you have any idea how much work goes into running your own business?"

"No." Rin admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But what else can I do?" He was defensive now. "Cooking is the only thing I'm good at! And there's no good bakers in Kyoto." He pouted. "I've been working on recipes for _weeks_ and Shiemi says that they are really good. You didn't even try the cookies!" He accused, shoving the plate in his brother's face.

Yukio set the file down on the table and rubbed his temples. Rin had a point about the cooking. And he would probably do really well if he managed to survive the first six months. In fact, he was good enough that he might even get some investors, and possibly expand if- No. That was getting ahead of things. He looked at his brother, and the cookies in his face and studied them over his glasses. As much as he hated to admit it, of all the options available, this might actually be the best option for Rin.

He took a cookie and bit into his, his eyes widening.

"Green tea and lavender. The lavender came from Shiemi's garden." Rin informed him proudly.

It was _amazing_. The Exorcist had to restrain himself for the sake of decorum from stuffing the whole thing in his mouth.

"So. Are you planning on hiring anyone?" Yukio asked, casually reaching for another.

Rin scratched his head, then counted on his fingers, staring up at the ceiling. "I could probably hire one person to start with – just to clean up and serve customers and things." He conceded.

Yukio carefully wiped crumbs back onto the now-empty plate. "That sounds sensible. You're going to have to find providers for your ingredients, and make a list of items that you want to sell. You should find someone to talk to about your budget and insurance. You'll probably want to renovate and repair before you open." He met Rin's eyes and smiled. It was a rare smile that reached his eyes and lit up his face. "We should have an event when you open. To celebrate."

Rin's look of awe slowly turned into an ear-to-ear grin. Having his brother's approval had mattered more than anything else, and he wasn't quite sure why. It didn't really matter though. It just made him happy that for once his brother wasn't worrying about him.

Yukio stood up and headed for the door. "I have to get back to work."

Rin went to the kitchen and brought back a large box. "Here. For the others."

Yukio looked inside – it was more cookies. For a second, he realized that if he didn't share, no one would ever know…

"Say hello to everyone."

"We're all going to the festival on Saturday." Yukio reminded him, tucking the box under his arm.

"That's three days from now! Say hello from me _today_."

Yukio gave up. Before he stepped out, he turned to his brother one more time.

"What did you decide to name it?"

"Oreno Pan."

"You're naming it "my bread'?"

"Well, it is _mine_ isn't it?"

Sometimes, it was better not to ask.


End file.
